Posts filed under Pen Case

Kokuyo Shellbro Pen Case Review

(Sarah Read is an author, editor, yarn artist, and pen/paper/ink addict. You can find more about her at her website and on Twitter.)

Kokuyo has another new model for their lineup of innovative pen cases: The Shellbro, a horizontal zipper case that opens like a clamshell. It has a high capacity and interior mesh pocket, but I don't think it lives up to the same design standard as some of the other Kokuyo cases available.

To be fair, this is a perfectly decent case. It does the holding pens thing just fine. But we have a million options for decent pen cases, so when I ask myself "why would I pick this one?" The answer is, I probably wouldn't. There isn't anything about it that stands out, either in terms of innovation or functionality. Some of Kokuyo's other cases push design boundaries and explore some new pen case frontiers (sometimes even too far, in my opinion), but this case doesn't have that same excitement.

The case is made of lightweight polyester canvas that comes in both muted neutrals and bright colors. There's either a contrasting or matching zipper that opens from one back corner to the other. The top opens and stands upright fairly well as long as there isn't something too heavy in the interior mesh pocket. When open, it's a lovely trough of pens with a mesh pocket above. The layout and capacity does mean that you'll have to dig to get to pens on the bottom--not everything in the case is visible. The case holds a LOT of pens, so the ones on the bottom will be well buried.

A downside to the construction is that the mesh pocket doesn't really contain items that well, so they can easily slip out as the case is carried around, and then those items swim around in the pool of pens. A large or heavy item, like a roll of washi, may weigh the pocket down too much so that the lid of the case doesn't stay open on its own.

The zipper does have a double tab, which is nice, but the zipper itself feels a bit fragile, with shallow teeth and very thin fabric. It would hold up well enough with gentle use, but I don't think it would last long in a middle-school student's backpack.

While this case didn't win me over, there are a lot of other great cases from Kokuyo, most of them a buck or five cheaper than this one.

(JetPens provided this product at no charge to The Pen Addict for review purposes.)

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Posted on December 27, 2018 by Sarah Read and filed under Kokuyo, Pen Case.

Galen Leather Six Pen Case in Crazy Horse Brown: A Review

(Susan M. Pigott is a fountain pen collector, pen and paperholic, photographer, and professor. You can find more from Susan on her blog Scribalishess.)

Galen Leather makes gorgeous leather products and other accessories for the analog-minded. For my birthday, I asked my husband to purchase a Galen Six Pen Case in Crazy Horse Brown leather. I liked the design with the zip closure which I hoped would offer a better level of protection than a roll case.

The case comes in a Galen cardboard box. Included inside are a card with the craftsman's name, information about Galen leather, an evil eye talisman, a packet of Turkish coffee and a tea bag. I love these extra touches in their packaging.

The case is absolutely gorgeous. I really like the weathered look of Crazy Horse Brown leather.

The zipper is super thick with a leather pull attached.

Inside are three elastic pen slots on each side. Leather flaps cover the pens to protect them from knocking against one another when the case is closed.

All of this is fabulous--until you put pens in the case. The elastic slots hold the pens securely. However, I encountered several problems.

First, pens longer than 5.5 inches do not really fit in the case. For example, my Danitrio is simply too long (and fat) for this case.

Second, if the pens are large in diameter, the leather flaps don't completely cover the pens to protect them, and the pen case itself can't be zipped closed.

*In this photo, you can see how the leather flap meant to protect the pens is forced up. Even if you push it down, it doesn’t cover the bottom third of the pens.*

Third, even if you fill all six slots with pens of ordinary size, the case will not close completely—at least I wasn't willing to try to force it closed. When I say pens of ordinary size, I'm talking about typical-sized fountain pens, such as Platinum, Pilot, Aurora, and Sailor.

What I discovered is that this case works great with just three pens, but if you try to fill all the slots, you run the risk of the pens scratching each other since the leather flaps don't fully cover them. Worse, you can't completely close the case. While I realize that leather can stretch, I doubt it can stretch enough to make the case useable for me—and who wants to risk using their pens to stretch out the leather? Perhaps Galen could use some elastic along the zippered portion that would allow the case to expand to accommodate six regular-size pens. I'm not sure. But, in all honesty, I feel uncomfortable putting more than three pens in this case, which obviously means it's no longer a six-pen case.

That said, I looked at the reviews of the six-pen case on Galen's website, and most people were quite happy with it. One or two said that the case doesn't accommodate larger pens, but no one discussed the case not closing properly. Maybe those reviewers use smaller-sized pens. I will probably return my six-pen case and purchase a version that has pen slots on one side only.

Even though this six-pen case didn’t work for me, if you use smaller pens (I’d say pens equivalent to Pelikan M400 size), it should work well for you. The craftsmanship is truly exquisite--there’s no doubt in my mind about that. The case is reasonably priced at $45.00, and you can have it personalized for $10.00 more.

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Posted on November 30, 2018 by Susan Pigott and filed under Galen Leather, Pen Case.

Dee Charles Designs Pen Sleeve: A Review

(Susan M. Pigott is a fountain pen collector, pen and paperholic, photographer, and professor. You can find more from Susan on her blog Scribalishess.)

Dee Charles Designs is a company made up of two individuals who are passionate about fine writing instruments and the art of handwriting. They say,

“People find joy, value and purpose in putting their stories, personal histories, notes and letters to paper. The written word tells a story about a person and relays their feelings, trust and love clearly. Feelings that are much harder to express with an e-mail, text, or post” (from the Dee Charles website).

The Dee Charles single pen sleeve comes in a simple black box with the Dee Charles logo and name in silver.

This sleeve is Midnight black with red stitching. A very cool fountain pen logo is embossed in the leather. The case is 6.5 inches long (165mm) and 1.8 inches (45mm) wide.

The top grain leather is thick and soft. You can see the thickness in the photo below.

The pen sleeve can accommodate both large (up to 5/8 inch in diameter) and small pens. I tried it with my largest pen, a Danitrio Takumi (see review here). Although the pen fits, it is quite snug. With use, I’m sure the leather will stretch out a bit.

However, the top of the pen is exposed at the opening.

If you carry your pen in a case or purse with a pocket, the fact that the top is a bit exposed to the elements shouldn’t be a problem. But, if you plan to drop the pen case into a bag with other items, it’s possible the top could get scratched or damaged. Thus, with large pens, such as Danitrios or Montblancs, I suggest putting the pen case in a pocket of some sort to protect the top of your pen.

Smaller pens fit much more easily into the pen case. I tried my Leonardo (review here) (a mid-sized pen) and my Aurora 88. The Leonardo fit quite well with only a bit of the cap exposed.

The Aurora 88 is small enough that it is below the stitching, so the top is barely exposed at all.

All of the pens fit snugly into the case, and, because of the leather grain on the inside, they won’t slip out.

The Dee Charles Designs single pen sleeve is well made and looks quite sophisticated. If you’re looking for a sleek, classy, leather pen sleeve, you’ll be very happy with this case.

You can purchase Dee Charles Designs single pen sleeves from Pen Chalet. They come in several colors (black with black, gold, or red stitching; rawhide with blue, brown, or gold stitching; and sunrise with black, blue, or red stitching) and retail for $22.00 (though they’re on sale right now for $17.60). You can also purchase double pen sleeves and Field Notes covers.

(Pen Chalet provided this product at no charge to The Pen Addict for review purposes.)

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